lutsen mountains ski area

A group of us went to Lutsen Mountains last weekend. Had a great day skiing, got back to the car and realized we had lost our car keys (didn't have a spare) and wallet on the mountain. Every single staff member that we encountered while trying to locate our lost belongings was more than accommodating. We couldn't believe how out of their way everyone went in order to help us, especially after hours on a Saturday night! In the end we were able to locate BOTH lost items, all thanks to the staff at Lutsen Mountains. Huge thanks to ski patrol, mountain maintenance team, and shuttle service for helping us out. Aside from excellent skiing, we were blown away by the friendly and super helpful staff. Will of course be back again, and would refer any friends to Lutsen Mountains.

We visited Lutsen in February as part of a mid-week ski/stay package. We had a very good time on the trip and the value of the package was a bargain. However, the lodging portion of the visit and the ski operations at Lutsen did not live up to the marketed expectations. We are avid skiers, and have frequented several resorts out West, however, this was our first visit to Lutsen.First Impression: The resort is massively sprawling taking up 4 mountains. It is gigantic! The main parking/gondola/chalet area is uniquely situated mid-mountain and the views from all four summits are spectacular.Snow: I am pretty sure most of MN is behind on snow this year (not sure about Lutsen specifically). However, you would never know if they were behind on annual snowfall. They had a great base (no mountain bare spots or closed runs due to lack of snow) and they were constantly making snow the entire 72 hours of our trip. It was cool to see 20-some foot drifts get plowed over and evened out on the runs. The snow making did cause for several runs to be closed at inopportune times. For instance, Lodge Run on Eagle Mountain was closed a full day. The way the mountains are set up, Lodge Run is the only intermediate/easy way to go from Mystery, Moose & Eagle Mountains to the main chalet. Instead, anybody wanting/needing to go to the main chalet had to take a black diamond to get to the main chalet. It was fine for us, but there were probably intermediate/novice skiers who likely got stuck.Grooming: Every run on Eagle, Moose and Ullr Mountain was groomed by 10AM. All three days the cats were out finishing up the corduroy as the ski hill opened. Being that Lutsen is so big, I was very impressed that it was all groomed nightly.Variety for Expert, Intermediate, Beginner: Lutsen caters to all skill levels, from the bunny hills on Ullr to the Double Black Plunge off the back of Moose Mountain. The only problem is that the skill levels are not well mixed among the mountains. This means groups at different ski levels can’t really enjoy the mountain together while still being challenged. The front of Eagle is basically all greens. The trail maps show Charlotte’s Web and Bridge Run as blues but they are anything but blue – they are slow wide open runs. The back of Eagle is all single and double blacks. Similarly, Moose Mountain is littered with trails of all colors. However, this really isn’t the case. Other than the tree runs, there really isn’t a black run on the front of Moose Mountain. Ullr is even worse. Ullr’s trail map shows blues mixed in with the greens. There is nothing blue about any run on Ullr – they are all winding variations of the bunny hill. In summary, Ullr is great for beginners, Eagle is great for beginners (off the front) and experts off the back, Mystery is great for intermediate (although closed while we were there) and Moose is great for beginners to intermediate off the front, and experts off the back. Operations: The tv’s in the chalet kept boasting an operations report showing six out of nine chair lifts open and 91 out of 95 ski runs open. These numbers were not accurate. Only three of the four mountains were open during our three days at Lutsen. Mystery Mountain was closed for the entirety. Of the nine total chair lifts at Lutsen, only four were in operation during our stay (one at each of the three open mountains, plus the gondola.) The base areas of each mountain are sprawling. With only one chair lift open, there was a lot of slow treks uphill to get to the lift. At least five double blacks on Moose Mountain were closed as well as all nine runs on Mystery Mountiain. Flat areas: With so few chairlifts open, we were walking and shuffling way more than we had bargained for. Areas you may find yourself walking, base of Moose Mountain, base of Eagle Mountain, Caribou Return, Moose Return (this one is the worst offender) and Moose Access Chair Lifts: Caribou Express is amazing. Super high speed and comfy seats. The gondola is kind of cool, but really old and slow. It is being replaced with a new gondola this year. The rest of the chair lifts are very old. The other lifts that were open - Bridge Chair & Ullr Chair – did not have arm rails nor safety bars. I would have had strong reservations putting my kids on chairs that did not have some sort of side barrier.Facilities: Lutsen hit a homerun with the Summit chalet. The views are breath taking. The only disappointment is that it is cafeteria style. We were hoping for more restaurant style cuisine. Tip: Order tap beer. It is ice cold at this chalet! The Gondola Base Chalet is a deceiving large cafeteria style chalet with three levels. Head on up to the 3rd floor for fireplace seating. Papa Charlie’s Bar and grill is onsite, however, it was closed during lunch time. For Minnesota, this is a spectacular resort in a pristine setting. The views of Lake Superior from every mountain are breath taking. Overall, I think Lutsen can be a very fun ski destination, and we had fun. However, with a substantial portion of the resort closed on weekdays, paying patrons are not getting what they pay for. I would have been very happy had 91/95 runs been open, but those figures were not accurate. It was a deceiving marketing technique. If Lutsen is going to offer mid-week ski/stay package, they need to be more up front about the portions of the resort being closed and chair lifts not in operation. The limited lift operations really force folks to spend a significant amount of time walking to the nearest lift.

I love Lutsen. Seeing the beauty of Lake Superior is a treat. The mountain runs are just long enough, and the lifts and gondola are speedy. The lodges are nice with typical food. Nicely groomed trails.

I should first clarity that my 4 star rating is made in comparison to other resorts in the Midwestern United States. Lutsen has an approximately 800 foot vertical drop, which, in my experience, is about double that of most other resorts in the Midwest. As best as I can tell, only Mount Bohemia in Michigan comes close to Lutsen in this regard. The terrain has reasonable variety with a few black runs and lots of blue and green runs. There is some limited tree skiing. Accommodations are comfortable and reasonably priced. The view of Lake Superior from the top of the mountain is awesome. Lutsen's employees are personable and helpful. There are, however, a few things that Lutsen could do better. The first is has to do with the grooming of the runs--there is too much of it! In my experience, with the exception of a few shots through the trees, the runs are extensively groomed, to within a few inches of the tree stands lining the runs. If you only like to ski groomed runs, this is, of course, great, but if you want to ski some powder snow or a few bumps, often your only option is the runs that go through the trees. It seems to me that Lutsen would be improved if a few small stretches were left un-groomed at least some of the time.My other minor problem is that Lutsen often only opens a limited number of runs and lifts on its mountains. My wife and I skied Lutsen on a Thursday, Friday and a Saturday a few weeks ago. Our favorite place to ski is a tree run called Timberwolf. Timberwolf can be easily accessed by the Timberwolf chair, which was closed the entire time we were there. The run can also be accessed by the very nice high speed Caribou Express, which seems to be always open. I can understand that management might not want to open the Timberwolf run on a weekday when there are relatively fewer skiers on the mountain, but I was disappointed when they did not even open it for the weekend., particularly when the run could have been readily accessed by the Caribou Express chair. Because of these two problems, I only gave Lutsen a four star rating, instead of a five star rating.I have seen a few reviews that are critical of the fact that some of the runs and trails require a limited amount of walking. The only trail that we skied like that was "Moose Return," which connects Moose Mountain with another part of the resort. It is true that it is necessary to herringbone a few very short stretches on this trail, but this part of the trail only takes two or three minutes. We did not mind it at all--in fact it represents a good opportunity to get warm on cold Midwest winter days. I would not be dissuaded from checking out Lutsen because of this feature of the resort--it just is not that big of a deal in my opinion. I would emphasize that Lutsen's many good qualities far outweigh its limitations. Although management could do better, it is still a great Midwest ski resort and I look forward to returning next year.

We tried Lutsen for the first time, and were very impressed. The ski area is substantially bigger than anywhere else within a day's drive of Winnipeg or Minneapolis. The vertical rise is impressive, but the real treat is the huge variety of terrain. Even with only 3 of the mountains open (and not all lifts running) mid-week, there are still dozens and dozens of terrific long runs to be had. If you want all 4 mountains, and all lifts, you'll need to come on the weekend.One word of advice about Moose Mountain (the biggest and tallest of the four). There is a way to ski back to the main base area (via an access run, and then the Eagle Chairlift). However, the access run ("Moose Return") is very long and flat - in fact, it is a bit uphill in some parts - so you will do a lot of pole-ing and/or walking. It's much better to take the gondola back down, although expect to wait a LONG time near the end of the day. Apparently, a new faster gondola is coming next year.The one reality you have to deal with, is that this northern Minnesota after all. You are unlikely to get temperatures anywhere near the freezing mark, during January or February. Expect more like zero (F), and don't be surprised if the wind makes it feel a bit colder than that. However, because the mountains face different directions, you can usually find one that is a bit out of the wind.We stayed in the Eagle Ridge condos, and they were great. Some of the "blocks" are nearer to the runs than others. Ours (Block D) was right above a run, and you could easily get in and out during the day.It is a 9-hour drive from Winnipeg, but if you stay in Grand Forks on a Friday evening, you'll have a relaxing drive on Saturday and still arrive by dinner, so you can start skiing on Sunday.Overall, we really had a great time, and hope to return soon.

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. See you again soon!

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We have taken your feedback in regards to the ice and snow removal and have let the appropriate departments know. We look forward to having you back with us in 2016!

Thank for taking the time to share your feedback with us, all of your suggestions have been shared with our management team. If you are unaware we have a lot of exciting updates and changes coming including our new gondola, expanded terrain, new chair lifts and improved services. We hope to have you back with us as these changes progress!

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us, we are happy to hear you enjoy the area as much as we do! We look forward to having you back on the slopes with us.

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, looks like you've found something to enjoy every season!

Great area to see in the fall! The gift shop is nice and we have always liked riding the gondola. The ALpine slide is also fun!

We came to the ski area just to ride the tram and it was spectacular! The view at the top was stunning. Well worth it.

We heard about the Lutsen Mountain tram ride from a brochure at our hotel, so we decided to give it a try. The trams are fairly compact, between 2-4 people in each for the ride up. Because we had gotten there early (about 10:15) we were lucky to have only the two of us in one. The ride lasts about 10 minutes to get to the top, affording some beautiful views throughout. Once up top, there are get views over the lake - apparently we were there on a day with very good visibility. We also did a little trail hiking at the top, though it was a moderately difficult trail so we didn't go very far. Very much recommend doing this if you are in the area - and definitely recommend going in the morning!

This is pretty pricey for a family, but our kids loved it. We split 8 rides between the four of us for about $44. The gondola is separate, but once across the valley you can hike around or stop into the mountaintop lodge for a snack. We won't do it again, but it was an enjoyable afternoon activity.

What a great ride down the hills. After a short chair lift ride up the slopes you get on a cart and wind down the tubes. There are a few drops where your butt lifts off the cart and you feel like you are free falling. At $8 a ride it was a fun. I could have gone 2 or 3 times, just to see how fast I could have handled the track, but not sure the 5 ride discount would have kept my interest. A great stop along the north shore and a fun way to mix things up a bit. A word of advice from my friend, when getting in line at the top, If you want to go fast, pick someone in front of you who matches your ability. She ended up behind a small child who was nervous and taking the ride pretty slow, and caught up to them about half way down. We celebrated our ride with a cold beer at Papa Charlies and enjoyed their patio.